Hiking Motivation:Keep Coming BackFor More Trail Time

I feel kind of silly talking about hiking motivation whenever someone asks me why I hit the trail every week.

For me, hiking is an inbuilt need, a drive, an absolute "must have" in large doses.

And it's been that way pretty much since my teens.

Trust me on how long ago that was!

So when people ask me how I stay motivated, I feel like a fraud giving them advice.

I've never explored the landscape of finding motivation as a hiker (get the little hiking joke there?).

That's not helpful!

But rather than share that unhelpful factoid, I try to dig deep into my memory banks for areas where I'm NOT motivated: taking a calculus or physics course, for instance.

Or scrubbing the kitchen floor.

I've done those things, because I knew they were important.

Did I enjoy them?

No!

Which gets me to my next point:

If you have to motivate yourself to hike, maybe you should explore other sports.

If hiking is a (pick one):

chore,

burden,

inconvenience,

physical endurance event,

something you do because your significant other wants to

... then maybe you're a hiker by name but not by heart.

And it's not really motivation that's the problem.

It's ATTITUDE.

Never underestimate the power of a good attitude when approaching a hiking goal.

I've observed lots of hikers, in many different settings and groups.

And I've noticed that they fall into 3 general categories in terms of attitude.

Which translates into their level of motivation for hiking, and their ability to motivate others to hike.

Let's peek at these hikers to see if any of them are able to motivate you to keep going on a tough hike, or come back for more.

ALPHA HIKERS

Out in front, taking the lead on every
decision, knowing exactly what should be done or how many miles to go
before stopping... have you met these folks on the trail?

Their posture shouts "I'm the leader!"

If you're a hiker just starting out, beginning to gain skills and confidence, these are the folks you should be hiking with.

Learn
from them, listen to their words. Watch their actions.

These alpha hikers attempt to motivate others through sheer force of will, using emphatic gestures and words like "must" and "will" to get you back to the trail head.

Bonus: You can take
comfort in their knowledge base if something goes wrong.

They will know what to do, or at least have an opinion about what to do, in every situation.

Their motivation for being on the trail?

Being in charge!

FOLLOWERS

Go with the flow hikers are glad to be part of the herd, happy to
go as far or as short of a distance as you'd like, content to take
pictures or soak their feet in a cold pool at the base of the waterfall.

This type of hiker is
great in a group setting, where the route has been laid out, someone
else is keeping track of the turn around time, and the weather is good.

If things get dicey, though, this hiker can be a detriment at worst, or no help at all at best.

So don't hike only with other followers, if that's you. It could be risky.

Their motivation for hiking?

Social interactions.

Motivational or not?

This brings us back to hiking motivation.

I
find the alpha type of hiker lacking in the ability to easily motivate other
hikers.

S/he has such never ending exuberance and staying power that other folks
feel worn down or overwhelmed, rather than motivated.

You might become a bit resentful of taking orders from the alpha hiker, too.

The second type of
hiker, the follower, is also unable to generate hiking motivation for
others.

It's not that they're wimpy, but their comfort zone forces them
to defer decisions to others.

Rarely do they attempt to instil hiking motivation in others. Instead, they focus on sharing their own experience of the trail.

Well, there must be some middle ground, or I wouldn't have told you there were 3 categories, right?

Time to introduce the...

INDIVIDUALISTS

Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow.

Both have their places on the trail.

Deferring gracefully to someone else is a beautiful attribute to have, when it's called for.

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